Murrysville ’ s Steel City Parkour teaches the art of movement . a
young boy perches precariously atop a tower of large foam blocks . Seconds later , he launches himself backward and flips through the air , landing softly into a pit of foam cubes . As he climbs out of the pit , a group of young men cheer on the little boy , encouraging him to try it again .
This is not your average kids gymnastics class ! This is Steel City Parkour , the area ’ s only gym dedicated to the art of parkour , acrobatics and obstacle course training .
Parkour , which means “ the path ” in French , is the art of moving quickly from Point A to Point B using acrobatics , jumps and climbing . The movement is massive in Europe and on the West Coast , and has seen steady interest in Pittsburgh over the past few years , says Steve DiGirolamo , Steel City Parkour ’ s owner .
Business at the gym is flourishing , partly because many of the competitors on the popular TV show “ American Ninja Warrior ” are also parkour athletes .
“ Although they require very different skills , parkour and Ninja Warrior tend to go hand-in-hand ,” says DiGirolamo . “ We ’ re drawing a lot of people because of the interest in that show , especially since they filmed in Pittsburgh last season .”
The gym ’ s state-of-the-art equipment includes a trampoline wall , a foam pit , a roof gap simulator and a replica of one of the “ American Ninja Warrior ’ s ” most challenging obstacles : the “ warped wall ,” which extends 14 feet straight up before curving backward .
By Jennifer Brozak
DiGirolamo , 24 , has been a parkour athlete for about seven years . While studying business in college , he found a gym that offered a parkour class . Soon , he began coaching . He then spent a week at the first-ever Parkour Week at Camp Woodward in State College , where he worked with multiple professional parkour athletes , further cementing his passion for the sport .
He opened the gym about a year ago after what he calls a series of “ fortunate events .”
In August of 2014 , he heard that the former Murrysville gymnastics studio Flip City Gymnastics was going out of business . At first , the previous owner was interested in forming a partnership with DiGirolamo , but when she couldn ’ t find a head coach , she decided to quit the business entirely .
“ I always knew that I wanted to open a gym , and just by luck everything fell into place ,” he says . “ It was the bargain of a lifetime – I was in the right place at the right time , for sure .”
The parkour scene in Pittsburgh is tiny compared to that of New York City , Washington , D . C ., or California , so DiGirolamo was at once anxious and excited about launching his own business . When he first opened in November of 2014 , he only had about 30 students and a few of those , he says , were “ leftovers ” from the gymnastics studio .
“ There were a few moments at first there that were tense and scary ,” he says . “ Business didn ’ t start to really pick up until January .”
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